Long Lost Memories
by Miamccar
Summary: Do you ever wonder what Shadow's past was like? What his life have been like growing up on the Ark? Look no further; this story is the account of the birth, life, love, and hate of Shadow the Hedgehog. From Maria acting as his surrogate mother, to Gerald creating another Ultimate Lifeform. (Rated M for smooching time.)
1. Chapter 1

_**Authors Note:**_

_**Attention all Readers. I would like to come out and say that this story is strongly based off of the original work, "Sweet Reveries", by Aeyvi Allen Poe. The original story was unfortunately never finished, and it saddened me to see such a good story end so unexpectedly. So, I have taken it upon myself to basically reboot this story; in dedication to the original author. **_

_**This rewrite of the story will include the same main characters and it will closely follow the plot that the original author was going for, all the way up until Chapter 11. (Which is where the story was cancelled). After chapter 11, I'll be able to change the plot however I please. I may not be the best writer, but I assure you, I will do my best to deliver a great story.**_

_**Once again, all credit goes to the original author for providing new characters and the basic plot, and I all SEGA characters do not belong to me or anyone.**_

_**Enjoy!**_

Chapter 1: Creation

50 years ago, there was a space station that floated above the Earth. This space station was known as the Space Colony Ark. It was built as a means to create technology that shouldn't even exist during the current time period. Not only that, but this station was also home to some of the world's greatest scientific geniuses; Nikola Tesla, Albert Einstein, and many more.

But the greatest scientist of all was none other than Gerald Robotnik. He was the man who designed the Ark; a technological feat that was dedicated to helping improve many lives on Earth. Though Gerald has created many things, there is one project that will top all the others…

Aboard the Ark, Professor Gerald worked endlessly on creating the Ultimate Lifeform, otherwise known as Project Shadow.

"Just a few more finishing touches…"

Then from behind him, the door cracked open very slowly. A girl with long, blonde hair peered into the room.

"Not now Maria. I'm afraid that I am very busy at the moment."

"Sorry grandfather, I just finished with my gene splicing class and I wondered if I could come and see what you are working on."

"Hmm… ah, alright. But please remember…"

"To not touch anything, right." Maria finished his sentence.

Maria has been living on the ARK for as long as she can remember. Ever since she was diagnosed with an unknown disease, she had been living with her grandfather in hopes that one day he will find a cure. She was now turning 18, and she had gained a lot of knowledge while being on the ARK. Sure attending classes that were rigorous were exhausting at times, but she pushed on through. Though being on the ARK had guaranteed Maria her safety, she still missed being on Earth. But regardless, she was thankful for her grandfather giving her this life.

Maria walked towards the computer her grandfather worked at. She looked up and saw that Gerald was analyzing the vitals of Project Shadow.

"Grandfather, how close until Project Shadow is complete?" Maria asked.

"Well, you are just in time to witness the creation of the Ultimate Lifeform."

"Oh really?! It would warm my heart to see him!"

Gerald sighed. "He's encapsulated over there." He pointed to one of the capsules that contained a small black hedgehog. Maria wandered over to see Shadow.

"Oh my gosh, he's so adorable!" She squealed.

She had never seen anything like it; Shadow was merely almost a newborn. To think that **this **creature would someday be meant to be used as a weapon… not on her watch, she thought. Then something crossed her mind.

"Grandfather, who will be the caregiver for Shadow?" she asked.

"I'm glad that you mentioned it Maria. Because in fact: **You **will be it's caregiver; Almost as if you were its mother." Gerald replied.

"I really couldn't find anyone else for the position… so you were my last option."

Maria's face lit up with pure joy. "You mean I get to raise Shadow?! Oh this is wonderful!"

"BUT!" Professor Gerald interrupted. "You will have to follow a strict set of guidelines: He will have a balanced diet, certain course of education, and will have rigorous training exercises."

"All until he's old enough… right?"

"Of course. Once the boy has reached the age requirement, he will have to follow these guidelines."

"Project Shadow should be ready by tomorrow morning. I want you here at 7:00 A.M sharp, understand?"

Maria nodded her head. "Yes sir!" She happily walked towards the exit; looking back one last time at the capsule that held Project Shadow, and she closed the door.

Outside the room, Maria was now left with only one thought: how to raise Shadow. At first thought she believed that raising Shadow would be a breeze, but the more she considered the idea, the more she doubted her abilities to care for such a creature. This was the first ever task she was given that involved caring for a living creature.

"_I'm not ready to be a mother…" _she thought silently.

Who was she kidding, herself? Of course she had to be ready. Her own grandfather just asked her to nurse not just a baby, but a hedgehog that will one day be known as the Ultimate Lifeform. **That **was a lot to take in…

"_What if I mess up? What if I treat him wrong? What if one mistake ruins everything? What if…"_

Maria's thoughts were in a mess. She felt so unsure of everything, and she had only received the task a few minutes ago. She took a deep breath; focusing on her thoughts, and relaxing at the same time. She breathed out and opened her eyes. She had to come to terms that she may not be the perfect candidate for being a mother of sorts, but she would make sure to give it her all.

_-o-_

Maria finally reached her quarters and immediately plopped herself on the bed.

"Tomorrow will be a big day…"

_The next day…_

"**Maria! Where are you?!" **Gerald shouted over the speakers. "**You're five minutes late! Get here now!"**

Maria, startled by the sudden loud voice of her grandfather, woke up from her slumber.

"Oh no, I overslept!"

Maria quickly got out of bed and put on her clothes in a hurry. Once she was done with the rest of her daily routine, she ran out of her room and shut the door behind her. Maria hurried down the long corridors of the ARK like it was an Olympic race.

"Grr… how could I be so clumsy? I can't believe that the one day that is most important on my schedule, I overslept." She muttered.

"Ugh, grandfather surely must be upset with me…"

_-o-_

Gerald was in fact upset with Maria.

"I specifically told you to be here at 7 o'clock on the dot! How could you oversleep?!"

"I'm sorry grandfather, but my alarm clock must've not gone off at the right time."

"And believe me when I say this: I absolutely remembered Shadow's release today."

Gerald groaned; excuses, excuses…

"Look Maria. How could I rely on you as a caregiver for Project Shadow if you can't even take care of yourself?"

"Grandfather I swear it's not like that!" She cried out, with tears welling in her eyes. "Please just give me the chance!"

Gerald strongly disliked seeing Maria on the verge of tears, so he made up his mind.

"Alright. This is your final warning, and they will be no excuses. You hear me young lady?"

Maria immediately embraced her grandfather. "Thank you…"

Gerald returned the hug as well, and kindly pushed Maria away.

"Now then, time to unveil Project Shadow."

_-o-_

The liquid drained slowly from the capsule that contained the little black hedgehog. Maria waited anxiously; she was so excited to finally be able to hold baby Shadow in her arms. She had brought one of the softest blankets she could find, to make sure that he was nice and snug within her arms.

When the capsule was completely drained, the lid flipped open. Maria very gently picked up the small creature. Seeing the tiny hedgehog brought a small tear to her eye. Of all the things she has seen on the ARK, Shadow easily takes the cake. Maria looked down at him, and slowly his eyes opened.

"Oh… you sweet… adorable… little thing…"

Shadow's eyes were a deep red; not looking away from Maria for even a second. He just simply stared into her blue eyes.

"Hello, Shadow. My name is Maria, and I'm going to take care of you from now on." The blonde-haired girl said softly while having a smile. The little hedgehog in her arms stared at her for a bit. Then he tried to copy his caretaker's smile, but it looked odd as if he never smiled in his life. Maria held in a chuckle for the attempt of a smile. The moment, however, was ruined by a fake cough next to her. She turned her head to see her grandfather.

"Maria, remember what I told you: do not teach him anything else, other than what I instruct you to teach him."

"Yes grandfather, I will…"

"Good, now take him to your quarters. I have another project I must finish working on."

Maria walked away from the room with Shadow in her arms. She looked at him one last time and smiled. This opportunity was going to change her life for the better.

_-o-_

"Ok Shadow, here we are."

Maria opened the door to her room. Unlike most of everyone's rooms onboard, she had taken decorated her room to her heart's content. Even some of her colleagues, who went on trips back and forth between Earth and Space Colony, brought her special nick nacks. She sat down in a chair with Shadow in her arms.

"There, there… Momma's here." She cooed.

The little black hedgehog in her arms; he was just the most beloved thing. And the way he slept soundly in her arms, it was a beautiful thing.

Maria then frowned when she remembered what her grandfather said earlier.

"Why does grandfather think I'm incapable…? and why does he demand me to follow those rules? He knows absolutely nothing about raising a child! Let alone be kind to one…"

Maria may have appreciated what her grandfather has done for her, but there are many things that she does not agree with that her grandfather may suggest. Now that she's been tasked with the responsibility of raising Shadow, she was determined to go against her grandfather's wishes. He wanted a weapon; to raise Shadow like a lab rat.

"_No… I'll be sure to raise him as if he were my own son."_

Maria rubbed her nose gently on Shadow's bean like black nose.

"Isn't that right Shadow? You and me, were going to show that mean old man just how amazing you can be."

Shadow giggled a bunch of gibberish, causing Maria to laugh a bit.

"_Such a strange connection." _She thought.

Never had such a creature brought so much love and light into her heart in just one day. Never. She smiled while looking down at Shadow. Slowly he closed his eyes as she rocked him gently to sleep. Once Shadow was completely asleep, Maria stood up from her chair and walked over to the crib she had prepared earlier. She laid him down, wrapping him up in blankets to make sure he was comfortable.

"Sleep dreams little one…" she said to him as she stared down at him. Feeling rest assured, Maria went to bed; glad of the new responsibility that was bestowed upon her.

_-o-_

It was very late aboard the ship. Most people would have been asleep in their rooms by now. But not Professor Gerald, he was just about finished with his next latest project.

"The computer says that all is perfectly stable… vital signs at normal rates… Project Eidola is a success."

This new creation of his was in fact another creature; a creature that was closely similar to Shadow. However, this project would not be as powerful as its other counterpart, yet it would still somehow be of use.

"Hmm… weight: 7 pounds. Fur color: red with black rings around certain quills. Eye color: amber. Gender…" Gerald took a quick pause, and a cold smirk grew wide across his face. "...female."

_To be continued…_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Sleepless Nights

Maria could only hear the wailing sounds of Shadow. For the past few nights, she had been unable to get any good amount of sleep. It was perhaps the most tiring and difficult part of being a surrogate mother.

"WAAAHH!" The little hedgehog cried out.

Maria got up from her bed and walked over to his crib.

"Shh, it's alright…" Maria soothed, gently picking him up in her arms.

Shadow continued to sob, even when his caretaker was rubbing his back to comfort him. But after a while, the little hedgehog sobbed less and simply rested his head against Maria's chest, listening to her heartbeat.

The blonde girl let out a sigh of relief and sat down on her bed. Her weary eyes looked down upon the black hedgehog and she smiled. But suddenly, a thought came into her mind and she silently gasped.

"_Oh no! I didn't study for my Gene Splicing test tomorrow!"_ She thought.

Maria moved Shadow away from her chest, placing him down in the crib. Maria then walked over to her desk and sat down in her chair. Shadow looked up to his surrogate mother with nervousness in his eyes. Shadow looked to his mama and the desk she sat at. He saw the vast amount of textbooks that were stacked upon each other on her table.

"Mah-ree-ah!" The little hedgehog mumbled to get Maria's attention.

Maria turned around; Shadow smiled awkwardly as he begged for attention. The blonde girl stared at him for a second before smiling. For the past four months, Shadow had been practicing to be good at smiling. Luckily he didn't practice when grandfather was around.

"You're too adorable Shadow!" Maria patted his head.

Shadow smiled as he leaned further into her hand. The girl chuckled over the hedgehog's behavior. Her blue eyes then looked back to her desk before looking down at Shadow.

"Hey Shadow? Do you want me to hold you while I study?" She softly asked.

Shadow looked down to think about it, and then simply nodded. His caretaker smiled, kissing him on his forehead.

"Thank you, you're the best!" She whispered.

The black hedgehog smiled proudly and let out a happy squeak. The blonde girl got up with Shadow in her arms and walked to her desk to sit down in the chair. The hedgehog got comfortable on her lap as Maria studied. Maria had to manage her time wisely, otherwise she would never be able to graduate like she had always wanted to.

_-o-_

Professor Gerald sat quietly in his lab. It was quite peaceful actually; to be left alone and no one to bother him. Especially when his newest creation was completely dead silent. Gerald looked to Eidola; she was napping on a bed, secluded in a room that was sealed by glass. Unlike his granddaughter's situation, he was planning on raising this female specimen to be being without any emotions whatsoever. He wouldn't call it cruelty, but merely in the name of science.

_***yawn***_

Professor Gerald could see that Project Eidola was waking up from her nap. She rose up and stretched her arms, opening her metallic amber eyes slowly as she rubbed them.

"I see you've had a very good nap." Gerald said to the small red hedgehog.

Eidola didn't respond. She only stared at the bald headed Professor blankly.

"Hmm, well regardless if you had a good nap or not, you must consume your meal."

Dr. Gerald pressed a button on his keyboard, which gave Eidola a tray of food to consume. Gerald expected her to eat it, but she oddly refused.

"What!? Why won't you do as I say!?"

Eidola slightly flinched at the loudness of his voice. Fearing that something bad might happen, she began to eat very slowly from the tray.

"Much better…" Gerald commented. "I don't want the creature to be refusing orders when I give them." he said to himself.

He wanted to be sure that Eidola learned to obey her peers at a young age, otherwise she would grow up to be reckless and rebellious. That was something he wanted to make sure he avoided. When Eidola finished eating her meal, Dr. Gerald gave her a sedative to put her to sleep once again.

"Hmph, it's a shame I'm forced to tend to this creature for the time being; it's a hassle…"

He ruffled the quills on the back of her head, smiling in satisfaction.

"It will only be a matter of time before you have grown up... and when that time comes… you'll make a fine weapon…"

_-o-_

_***Beep Beep Beep***_

Maria's alarm clock went off. The ear piercing noise of it was quite enough to not only wake up Maria from her sleep, but also Shadow as well. He wailed, desperate for his mother to come to him.

"Aw, what is it now sweetie?"

She got up from her bed to tend to Shadow. She picked him up in her arms and gently cradled him.

"Shh, shh…"

Caring for a child was harder than she thought. She needed sleep, desperately. She had been dozing off in class for the past four months, and countless after class lectures from the teachers. The exhausted girl let out a soft sigh as her heavy eyes began to shut.

"I need to find a way to balance classes and Shadow… if I don't, then I can't graduate and grandfather will be disappointed in me." She thought as her eyes began to droop. All of a sudden, she felt Shadow poking her frantically and making alarming noises.

"Hmm?" Maria wakes up just in time to stop her body from falling forward. She gasped and straightened herself and looked down at the hedgehog in her arms; he was looking up at her with concerned red eyes.

"Oh I'm so sorry!" Maria apologized.

The black hedgehog smiled up at her. It was his way of saying, "it's okay!". His caretaker weakly smiled down at him. Her blue eyes then looked at her alarm clock, it was 5 minutes until her class started. The smile on her face melted into a tired frown.

"I can't go to class like this… I just need some more time to sleep."

Maria looked away from her clock and then down to Shadow, who was staring up at her. Maria closed her eyes to think about her situation. She opened her eyes once again when Shadow started poking her; making sure that she wasn't about to fall asleep.

"Don't worry," the blonde girl softly chuckled. "I'm not going to fall asleep on the floor. I'm deciding to stay here for the day!" Maria exclaimed with a big smile.

"_Hopefully the teacher will think I'm sick…" _She nervously thought.

Shadow's eyes widened at what she said, along with his smile. Finally, his mama can stay and play all day!

"Right after… I get some sleep…" Maria put Shadow in his crib and she locked the gate on it. Maria was hit with a large wave of exhaustion, and made her way tiredly towards the bed; passing out the moment she made contact with the mattress.

Shadow was puzzled; he thought she was going to give him attention. But no, instead she went to sleep instantly. His eyebrows furrowed; he was upset that his momma passed out.

Shadow wasn't sure what to do now. He looked around for something, and then his stomach made a loud noise. He didn't know what the noise meant, but he did feel hungry all of a sudden. His eyes drifted off towards the milk bottle. It was located on the nightstand, much taller than him.

Shadow wanted it, but first he had to escape the infernal cage he was trapped in. He recalled that his momma closed the gate by pushing down. So if he pushed up…

_*lifts the gate, and it opens*_

Shadow was thrilled; all he had to do now was get the bottle. He could see that the bottle was on the edge of the nightstand. He crawled towards it and started to shake it. Ever so slightly, the bottle inched off the edge. Alongside with a photo frame of some sort. Soon enough, the bottle fell right over the edge, and right into his hands. Shadow smiled.

But then, the sudden sound of glass shattering was heard. This startled Shadow, and it woke Maria in a fright as well.

"What happened!?"

Maria's attention went to the crib; it was unlocked. How could she be so insolent to leave Shadow unattended. Then she saw two things: Shadow on the floor holding his bottle, and her beloved picture frame that was now shattered.

"Oh no Shadow! Are you alright sweetie!?" She panicked, picking up Shadow to see if he was harmed.

The only way he responded was by simply putting the bottle to his mouth and drinking the milk inside. Maria sighed in relief.

"Shadow, you could have gotten yourself hurt!" She said sternly. "Bad Shadow!"

He ignored her and kept drinking his warm milk without a care.

Maria grumbled and walked over to the shattered picture frame. She was careful to not get stabbed by the glass, and she picked up the photo.

The picture was of her parents; parents she had hardly ever knew. She had grown up entirely with her grandfather and this picture was the only thing she had to remember her parents by.

Maria started to tear up, and Shadow looked at her.

"Mah?" Shadow babbled.

Maria looked to the hedgehog, wiping away her tears.

"Oh… it's nothing my child." She assured him. "Momma just had something in her eye."

"Mah." He spoke once more.

"Now, now Shadow. If you want to say my name, you have to pronounce it right."

"Just like before, repeat after me: 'Mah-Ree-Ah'."

"Muh… wee.. Ah!" Shadow happily answered.

"Close enough." Maria smiled and hugged Shadow.

"For now on mister, I'll be keeping a close eye on you for these next few months. _And I'll have to come up with a lot of excuses…_"

Maria took Shadow once again and placed him on her bed, and she watched him suckle on his warm bottle of milk.

_To be continued…_

* * *

**Miamccar: Edited to fix format.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Growing Attached

Over the course of the next few months, Maria had been surprised by Shadow's progress. Turns out that his intellect and behavior have greatly increased. Not to mention he was also growing up quite quickly. (This is due to him being genetically altered to reach his prime years much faster.)

Maria was extremely grateful for this; not only was she able to start sleeping better and having an easier understanding between her and Shadow, she was finally able to attend her classes. Today marked the day of her last week of schooling on the ARK, and that she was glad for.

She was in class at the moment, doing work alongside with one of her best friends, Junie. They were supposed to be studying, but they kept getting distracted because of Shadow. Maria brought him along since he couldn't behave himself today.

Junie, her lab partner, was adoring the little black hedgehog. She just couldn't get over how cute he was.

"Maria, could I please hold him?" Junie begged her.

"I'm sorry Junie. I know you really want to, but only I can take care of him."

Junie lowered her head in disappointment. "Aw Maria, you're no fun." She pouted, crossing her arms.

"It's my grandfather's orders Junie." Maria stated. "I strictly have to raise Shadow under these guidelines that my grandfather lent me." She showed Junie a piece of paper that had instructions on it. "See, I told you."

Junie rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say Maria." She stared at Shadow once again; he simply snuggled closer to his caregiver and minded his own business.

"It's not fair! How come you get to get the fun and exciting projects while I'm stuck here in class, bored out of my mind?!" Junie exclaimed.

Maria laughed a little bit. She felt a tad bit bad for her friend, but it's not her fault that she was given this monumental task of raising the Ultimate Lifeform.

"Yeah, and does waking up at 3 a.m in the morning sound FUN to you?" Maria retorted. "If it wasn't for these rules, I'd be HAPPY to let you have a shot and experience what it's like to raise a child."

Junie stared puzzlingly at her friend. "Wait, you'd actually do that? 'Cause you know, Kordon would like that…"

"Oh hush now Junie! You and Kordon; would you ACTUALLY think that having a baby hedgehog would bring you two together?"

Junie didn't pay any attention to Maria; the brunette was too busy gushing over her crush, Kordon. The man was completely unaware of her, having his head deep inside the textbook. She could only imagine how they would look if they were an actual couple.

Maria sighed heavily, rolling her eyes at her friend. Junie always did this.

"Let's just continue working Junie, ok?" Maria suggested you her friend. Junie nodded and the two continued their work, while Shadow was left with hardly anything to do.

_-o-_

"Okay Shadow, I have something to show." Maria said with glee.

Shadow had fallen fast asleep due to the immense boredom that Maria's class offered. Not to mention Maria had hardly paid any attention to him.

Shadow slowly woke up, and was happy to see that no one was around anymore.

"Mama?"

"Yes Shadow, Mama is here. But take a look around you."

Shadow looked all around him, and there were many trees and flowers all over the place. Of course this was new to him, and like any other curious child, he wanted to explore the world around him.

"Down." He replied eagerly.

"What's that? Want to have a look around?" Maria set him down on the soft grass.

"Oooooohh…" Shadow said in astonishment. He was so intrigued by the pure smells and colors of the environment he was in. He attempted to shuffle on all fours towards a red rose he spotted.

"Careful…" Maria stayed close to him at all times, just to be sure he didn't get hurt.

Shadow wandered towards the red rose. Once he was face to face with it, he took a large sniff of the flower. Almost immediately, he sneezed, nearly knocking himself backwards. The blonde caretaker placed her hand over her smile and let out a chuckle. The hedgehog sniffed, attempting to clear his nose, before looking at his surrogate mother and giving her the "don't laugh at me!" glare.

Maria tried to stop laughing when she saw Shadow glaring at her.

"Oh, I'm sorry tough guy." Maria said as she accidentally chuckled again.

Shadow had half-lidded eyes while having an annoyed frown. But it disappeared when a monarch butterfly flew past his face, landing on a blossomed flower. He tilted his head in confusion before crawling slowly to the butterfly who was gathering nectar. Shadow stopped and laid down on his stomach to study the butterfly. But after a few seconds of watching it, the butterfly suddenly flew to the hedgehog and landed on his black nose. The little hedgehog let out a surprised yelp and sat up to swat it away from his face.

"No Shadow, don't harm it!" Maria rushed to Shadow before his hand got near the butterfly. "It's not hurting you, so why must you attack it?" The girl then reached her hand out, allowing the butterfly to land peacefully on one of her fingers.

"You see Shadow? This little insect would never harm anyone."

Shadow looked at Maria, and then the insect. He could see that the butterfly wasn't doing anything; it was just living its life like it should be.

"So Shadow, as long as nothing is threatening you, you have no reason to attack." Maria let the butterfly fly away.

Shadow didn't quite understand exactly what she meant, so he just giggled and nodded at his mama.

"That's my boy!" Maria said cheerfully. "Let's head back to mama's room and I'll read your bedtime story!" She picked up Shadow from the ground, and started to make her way back to her room.

_-o-_

Maria just got back to her quarters; settling in and putting Shadow in his crib. She yawned loudly, exhausted after the long day she's had. But she promised that she would read Shadow a story.

"_It's just one short story…"_

Maria went to her shelf and was about to grab a book, when all of a sudden the speakers in her room went off loudly.

"**Maria! I need you in my lab this instant! And make sure to lock the Ultimate Lifeform in a cage!"**

"Ugh, you can't be serious right now…" Maria groaned. She looked to Shadow.

"Sorry, but mama has to go talk to her grandfather. I'll be back as soon as I can, ok?"

"Mama?" Shadow whimpered.

"I'll be fast, I promise! Behave yourself while I'm gone!" Maria grabbed a few of her belongings in case of anything and locked the door behind her.

Shadow plopped himself down in the middle of his crib, pouting. He attempted to pass the time by playing with his toes, or fiddling with his fingers. But eventually Shadow grew bored, and started searching for things outside of the bars.

He took notice of the large, colorful books on Maria's bookshelf. It contained many things: encyclopedias, journals, storybooks, and much more. But the one that stood out was a book, engraved with golden letters that shined a little.

The book wasn't far from his reach. So he reached out; straining and his little fingertips touched the edge of the book. After what seemed like an eternity, he managed to grab hold of the book and pull it through the bars of his crib.

He opened up the book and saw that there were many strange markings written on each page. He flipped through many of the pages, intrigued by it. Closing the entire book he saw the cover of the book. It was titled, "_King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table"_. Shadow traced his fingers along the golden beveled letters, with deep interest. After a moment longer, Shadow opened the book once more and began to look at the marks more closely.

_-o-_

Maria jogged down the hallway, carrying her bag over her shoulder, and narrowly missing people as she ran. Maria was a bit annoyed that her grandfather called on her.

"Ugh, I hope that I'm not in trouble."

After a couple of more minutes of running like a fool through the halls, Maria finally made it to her grandfather's lab. She opened the door, and was greeted with a 'not so friendly greeting'.

"Good lord Maria, what took you so long?" Dr. Gerald scolded her.

"Sorry doctor, I was on my way and-"

"You do understand that there are no excuses, correct Maria?"

She wanted to say something smart back, but she instead nodded in understanding.

"Good. Now come here, I need your help with another one of my projects."

Gerald turned around and led Maria towards his latest creation. Maria looked and saw a red hedgehog laying in a bowl-like cradle, crying immensely with tears coming down her face. Maria felt bad for the poor creature; her grandfather was seemingly neglecting it.

"Grandfather, why is she crying?"

"I have been trying to give her sedatives to fall asleep, but she has grown immune to them and if I try to administer more she may suffer from brain damage or even death."

"Sedatives? Grandfather she's only a baby! Why not just let her stay awake?"

"Do I look like Nanny McPhee to you!? I have BIGGER things to worry about and taking care of this youngling is NOT on my list!"

"Grandfather… you aren't thinking of putting ME in charge, right? I already have Shadow I'm taking care of."

"Of course not Maria! Project Eidola will be refrained from as much influence as possible and I will not allow her to develop any personalities of any sort."

Maria was a bit shocked to hear this. "You… why would you do that to such a beautiful creature?"

"No more questions! Just… help me fix this granddaughter…"

Maria tried to think of a solution to the problem. She could clearly see that Eidola was crying, so she had to think of a remedy.

Then she perked up, remembering she always carried a spare bottle of warm milk for Shadow just in case. She walked over to the child, gently picking her up, and offered her the drink. The little red hedgehog suckled at it, and was instantly in bliss.

"See, that wasn't so hard to fix." Maria remarked.

Gerald was dumbfounded, wondering how his granddaughter fixed the issue so quickly.

"How the- grr… GIVE THAT BACK!" Gerald snatched the baby and the milk bottle from Maria.

"You can leave now; your help is no longer needed."

Maria nodded, resisting herself from retorting, and left the lab.

_-o-_

Maria got back to her room, tossing all of her belongings on her bed, and her lab coat on a coat hanger.

"Shadow, mama's home…"

Maria walked over to her small kitchen and got herself a drink.

"_Still no sign of Shadow…" _she thought.

Maria ventured over to the crib, and when she caught sight of it, she nearly dropped her drink.

She saw that Shadow pulled some of her favorite books through the bars of his crib. He was flipping through a few of them, and worried that the books could get ruined, Maria took action.

"Shadow No! Not my books!" Maria rushed over to the crib and snatched the one Shadow was reading.

"Huh?" The hedgehog uttered as he stared at his caretaker.

Maria flipped through the pages of the book frantically to see if there was any damage. But to her surprise, the book was perfectly fine. She let out a huge sigh of relief and held the closed book in her arms.

"Lance!" Shadow said.

Maria's brows furrowed.

"Lance?" She repeated.

Maria noticed that Shadow pointing at the book in her arms. She blinked a few times in confusion.

"Uh, Shadow? What are you talking about?" She asked. The black hedgehog pointed to the book once again.

"Lance!" Shadow repeated.

Maria turned the book over and looked at the cover. It showed King Arthur raising Excalibur to the blue sky with Camelot behind him. The knights that surrounded the king were Gawain the Echidna, Percival the Cat, and Lancelot the Hedgehog, all of them raising their swords to the sky.

Maria pondered, until the idea clicked.

"Wait… did you mean Lancelot, Shadow?" She asked. The said hedgehog nodded with a smile on his muzzle.

"Lance-ah-lot!" The hedgehog shouted in excitement. But his surrogate mother raised a brow at that.

"But how did you know that was Lancelot? You can't read yet, can you?"

She opened the book to the page all about Lancelot; from witnessing his father's death as a child, to becoming one of the most trusted knights in the round table. Maria also noticed that Lancelot's name was inscribed in a large font, making it easy to spot and read.

"You managed to read this, Shadow?"

He nodded in response to her question.

"That's amazing Shadow!" She bent down to ruffle the hedgehog's quills. "It's incredible how fast you're learning!"

Shadow was loving the special attention. He leaned his head into Maria's hands, nuzzling her in the process.

"Aww…"

Maria was really starting to like having Shadow around. It actually felt like he was her own child, except that he's a hedgehog and was genetically created. Then, she remembered her promise.

"Shadow, do you want me to read you that story I promised?" Maria asked him.

"Ya!" He replied happily.

"Okay!" Maria opened the book she had in her hands, King Arthur, and she started to read to Shadow.

_To be continued…_


	4. Chapter 4

**Author Note: **Hello and thank you for supporting this story so far!

I'm sorry I didn't upload on Friday, I was away for Thanksgiving break. But the schedule will be back as normal. I'll upload a new chapter on Sunday if I haven't on Friday.

And Author's Notes will be in chapters as usual as well. I didn't know what to write in the previous chapters, except for the fixing error update. It felt weird to not put the notes.

Also what are your thoughts on the story so far? And I wonder if you like Author's Note at the start of the chapter for this story.

I hope you had a good Thanksgiving.

And enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 4: Schooling

"No mama, I don't wanna eat that!" Shadow whined.

Shadow had reached the age of 3. The age where he was starting to form short sentences, eat different foods, and of course, he began attending kindergarten. Still though, Maria treated him like a baby, and Shadow was not a big fan of it.

"C'mon Shadow, you need to eat your food." Maria urged him.

"Why mama?" Shadow whined, turning his mouth away from the spoon.

"Well what do you think happens when you don't eat Shadow?"

He thought for a moment, thinking of the word he wanted to say. "Mmmmaaal… malnutrisshhuun."

"Malnutrition, right. And what do you know what happens when you become malnourished?"

"I die?"

"No, grandfather and the other scientists won't let that happen. Instead they'll put needles in your arm and inject the food into your bloodstream."

Shadow grew terrified; his eyes widened. "W-what!?"

"Do you want that to happen to you Shadow?"

He shook his head side to side, horrified by the thought of needles.

"So then open up, and eat your food."

Shadow did so, reluctantly, and forced himself to swallow the pathetic excuse of a meal.

"Good boy Shadow!" Maria lightly clapped to celebrate his accomplishment. "Tonight, I'll be sure to give you a better food. Just don't tell Dr. Gerald, okay?"

Shadow smiled; he loved the taste of the food Maria and her coworkers ate, and not the disgusting food he was forced to consume. Things like cake, pizza, and cookies we're a few of his favorites.

"I can't wait mama!" He said excitedly.

Just then, a bell tolled throughout the hallways of the ARK.

"Oh! It's time for you to go to class Shadow!" Maria happily said.

"Aw man, class is boring…" Shadow whined.

"Having that attitude won't get you through school at all, young man." Maria gave Shadow his belongings, putting the book bag on his back. "Now run along, before you're late again."

"Alright mama, I'm going." Shadow gave Maria a hug and ran off to class.

_-o-_

Shadow rested his hand on his cheek as he swung his legs impatiently, staring at the whiteboard. Since the hedgehog had high intelligence at such a young age, he was placed in a class full of "splicers" instead of a normal human kindergarten class.

What are splicers you may ask? Splicers are the results of lab experiments performed by the multitude of scientists aboard the ARK. They were anthro-fauna that most of the scientists specialized in creating. Shadow was technically part of this group, but since his genetic makeup was so superior compared to the others, that he was in an entirely different class of his own. The best part: Shadow never ceased to remind them of just how 'unique' he was.

"Ugh…" Shadow groaned to himself. He watched as the teacher tried to walk the students through a simple math problem.

"Ok class, who can tell me the answer?" The female teacher asked everyone.

No one wanted to raise their hand to answer, everyone except Shadow. He had his small black hand raised, but the teacher disregarded Shadow and searched for other raised-hands.

"Anyone else? Hands?"

Shadow was starting to get upset now. He waved his hand around, hoping the teacher would notice.

"Uhh, teach? Over here?" Shadow called out. But she still ignored him.

Then a small coyote raised her hand very slowly.

"Elise, go ahead."

"Is the answer… uh… 21?"

"WHAT!? Are you SERIOUS right now!?" Shadow angrily shouted, standing up from his chair.

"Shadow!" The teacher called out. "Take your seat this instant!"

"Pfft, as if. I'm outta here. You guys have extremely low IQ."

"SHADOW! You come back here NOW!"

Shadow grabbed his belongings, turned around, and pulled down one of his eyelids and stuck his tongue out. After his short moment of teasing the angered teacher, Shadow took his leave and left the room.

_-o-_

"Shadow you can't be doing this… leaving class!? Why!?" Maria was at peak frustration; ever since Shadow started attending classes, he was a bit 'rebellious' lately.

"Look mama, that class is full of nincompoops. They don't know anything." Shadow sat on the side of his bed with his arms crossed, pouting as he looked away from Maria.

"Shadow, you HAVE to attend class. It's important for you to learn new things and increase your intellect."

"Yeah right, what do those people know that I don't?" He sarcastically asked.

"Well let's see: they know how to write, do math problems, reading long paragraphs…"

"Ok, ok, I get the point…" Shadow said, a bit embarrassed by what his mama countered.

Maria laughed a little bit. "You're such a rascal Shadow!" She ruffled his quills, noticing that he had new grayish highlights growing in. Each highlight covering each of the top of his quills. _Strange…_ she thought.

"You still need to be educated Shadow."

"No!" Shadow stood up defiantly. "I won't go back to that class full of dummies!" Shadow turned away from his mama, crossing his arms angrily.

Maria sighed; this wasn't going anywhere, she had to fix the problem.

"Listen Shadow, what if I were to homeschool you?"

Shadow's ears perked up. "Home..school? What's that?"

"Homeschool is where instead of going to a class to learn, you get to stay home."

"Really!? Alright, awesome!" Shadow jumped around excitingly.

But Maria wasn't finished…

"However, you'll still have to do work and be responsible."

Shadow slowly stopped jumping up and down, his smile dropping.

"Wait what…"

"Along with the idea of possibly homeschooling you, I plan to meet with Dr. Gerald so that he may allow me to educate you. How does that sound Shadow?"

"Well… I… it's okay I guess…" Shadow struggled to spit the words out. He was bummed out by the fact that he still had to learn.

"But do you think Dr. Gerald would say anything about the umm… attachment… thing? What does 'attachment' mean again?"

Maria groaned, annoyed that her grandfather would say something like this. "Shadow, when did he ever mention that?"

"Oh, I overheard him. He was in a room, holding some small hand-held box near his mouth and talking into it. Said that I would be 'too soft' if I stayed with you a lot."

Maria put both of her hands on Shadow's shoulders, shaking her head. "Don't you listen to him. I am your mother, and I will raise you how I please. And believe me, you're a strong willed, smart, and talented young boy."

"Thanks mama…" Shadow nuzzled her softly.

"Umm, Mama?" He asked.

"Yes Shadow?" She replied.

"Can I say something?"

"Why of course Shadow. You can tell me anything."

"I… I love you…"

An instant smile of pure happiness grew on Maria's face. A small tear formed in her eye, and she wrapped Shadow in a tight hug.

"I love you too Shadow." Maria said, nearly on the verge of tears.

"_This must be what it feels like… for a son to love their mother… such a beautiful thing…"_ she thought.

Maria looked to the clock and she noticed that it had gotten late; It was past Shadow's bedtime.

"Oh dear, would you look at that. Time for bed Shadow."

Maria picked him up, and placed him in the crib. She believed that Shadow had almost outgrown his crib. It was almost time to get him his own bed. She kissed him goodnight, and Shadow peacefully went to sleep.

"I'll see you in the morning…" she said softly in his ears.

Maria changed into her sleeping gown, and crawled into bed. She kept rolling over in attempts to get comfortable. She kept thinking about her grandfather's other project… Project Eidola was it? What a strange name for such a beautiful creature. She hadn't seen her grandfather's new project for about a year. Maria wondered how she was doing under Dr. Gerald's care. Hopefully alright, she hoped.

The blonde girl started to ponder about what her grandfather's plan was for Eidola. Making her not have a personality, even as an infant, how would that be possible? Infants who were even artificially made gene splicers are born with personalities, mannerisms, and other strong emotions. There was no way that Dr. Gerald could pull of such a feat. It would mean that Eidola would have to refrain from any contact whatsoever, and experience nothing.

"_Poor thing..." _she thought.

Then her mind drifted. She thought about why Shadow was brought into this world. If she recalled correctly, Gerald created him to be perfect. A life form capable of overpowering almost anything, and he wanted to use Shadow as a weapon. But Shadow wasn't like that. He had thoughts, feelings, and was able to choose what he believed was right and wrong.

Suddenly it occurred to her as to why Eidola was being raised the way she is at the current moment. Her brows furrowed. She was going to have a serious talk with her grandfather first thing in the morning.

_-o-_

Maria stormed down the halls of the ARK; journal in hand, and her bag slung over her shoulder. She approached the door to Dr. Gerald's lab, and she knocked furiously.

"Grandfather! Open this door right now!" She shouted from the outside.

Dr. Gerald opened the door; anger written all over his face. "For heaven's sake Maria, what is it!?"

"I know why you brought Eidola into this world! And it's not for a good purpose!"

"Congrats granddaughter, you figured it out. Now leave me."

He attempted to shut the door, but Maria pushed her way through.

"No, no that's not it. Why would you treat her like that?" The blonde girl asked, feeling her throat tighten. "That poor thing; treated so unkindly when instead she should be raised with love and compassion…"

The old man raised a brow at her. "Listen Maria. She is an experiment, and nothing more."

"But that's not true, and you know it!" Maria scolded him. "She has thoughts, emotions, and personality. She is like US!"

Gerald scoffed at Maria's words. Maria did her best to appear like she was the adult in the room.

"As much as I want to praise you about speaking up to me in person, I need you to stop fighting for them. They are not like humans. They are like lab rats or livestock on a farm. You shouldn't be attached to those creatures."

"B-but grandfather, after the time I've spent with Shadow, I've seen and felt what that attachment is like. It's a beautiful thing..."

"Maria there is no excuse!"

Maria was on the verge of tears, glaring up towards her grandfather. She can feel her blood boiling at this point, but she needed to stay calm. Maria took in a breath and let it out.

"Yes they're not human, but that doesn't mean that they can't express their feelings or emotions. They're intelligent beings, just like us. Let's face it, we won't be the only dominant beings forever. Every animal evolves over time, like our ancestors." The blonde girl explained.

"My dear… we, as humans, have advanced beyond being the dominant species. We CREATE living and breathing creatures! We are virtually playing God, and our work is for the better!"

Maria's eyes widened when her grandfather said that sentence with a chilling grin on his face. She gripped tightly onto the book she had in her hands.

"_What happened to the grandfather I once knew…" _she thought.

Then, a small set of footsteps could be heard. The two humans turned their heads, and a small red hedgehog peeked her head into the room.

"D-doctor, what is all the yelling..." Her small, fragile voice asked innocently. Eidola had apparently heard the racket coming from the room and came to see what the argument was about. Not to mention she had somehow escaped from her "crib".

Her creator and the blonde girl stared at her, briefly looking at each other, then looking back at Eidola.

"I-I'll tell you later. Go back to bed and be sure to finish that book I tasked you to read." Gerald said firmly. The experiment slowly nodded at the demand, but then caught sight of the blonde-haired stranger.

"Sir… who is she?" Eidola pointed to Maria curiously.

"That's nothing of importance. Go to your cage this instant!"

Eidola pouted, shuffling back to her room and left the two scientists.

Dr. Gerald sighed deeply. "Maria, listen to me closely. Project Eidola has started to reach the age where she needs a proper teacher, and unfortunately I cannot have her in a classroom."

"So what does that mean?" Maria asked.

"It means that I'll need you to be her educator."

"Her educator? But Shadow needs ME to homeschool him."

"Stop right there Maria. Why does Shadow need to be in a class of his own?"

"He's been… rebellious lately…"

Dr. Gerald muttered under his breath. "Very well, I'll let you be his educator."

Maria's face was showing signs of pure happiness. This meant that she could teach not only Shadow, but also Eidola at the same time. But then Dr. Gerald held his index finger up, indicating he was about to speak.

"_There was a catch…" _she thought.

"I DO NOT want Shadow and Eidola together in any way whatsoever." Gerald added.

Now Maria frowned. She expected him to be finished, but he wasn't.

"Not only that, you are to express no emotion or personality whatsoever when Eidola is in your presence. Do I make myself clear Maria?"

Maria looked away from her grandfather in disgust, but she complied.

"...yes, grandfather."

"But the most important thing: Do NOT let her come into contact with The Ultimate Lifeform. Understand?"

"Of course." Maria's eyes drifted towards the floor, taking in the events that had just transpired into her mind.

"Maria, eyes on me."

She obeyed, but with a sneer.

"This is for the better… for both of their own sakes. One day Maria, you'll come to realize that I was right all along. Don't get attached, you hear me?"

She nodded, but deep inside she knew it was already too late. Her love for raising Shadow had grown exponentially, and she would never give him up.

"In about a week, I will give you more information concerning Eidola's curriculum. As for Shadow, simply follow the previous curriculum that he was instructed to follow. I expect you to abide to it."

Dr. Gerald stepped away from her, turning his attention to his own work.

"Now leave me granddaughter." He demanded, not even looking at her.

Maria nodded slowly, and she left the room. The moment the door closed behind her, she broke out into tears. She dropped to the ground, her back leaning against the wall, and her face in her hands. Up until this moment, she had always been thankful for what her grandfather had given her. But now… she purely resented him.

_-o-_

Shadow impatiently tapped his foot, his mother had been nearly gone all day, and he was starting to get annoyed.

"Ngh… what's taking mama so long… Doesn't she know that it's long past my lessons?"

Just then, the door to Maria's room creaked open. Shadow immediately perked up, excited that his mother was home. However when she came into the room, something was off about her.

"Mama? Are you okay?" Shadow asked sincerely.

Maria had her head lowered, staring at the floor beneath her feet. Tears formed in her eyes, and she began to sniffle.

"I'm... fine my dear…" Maria said as she wiped away her tears. Shadow immediately knew something was amiss.

"Did I do something wrong again mama?" He asked nervously.

"No Shadow, you aren't at fault whatsoever. It was… him…" Maria couldn't even say her grandfather's name. That's how upset she was with him.

Maria took her hand and placed it gently on Shadow's cheek. She held him closely; embracing him. Maria looked into his innocent, yet menacing, deep red eyes. She had never felt such an attachment for a creature… No… love for a child. A child that she never conceived; only raised. And he wasn't human, he was a hedgehog. Yet, despite all this, she still loved and cared for him.

"_How lucky am I… to have Shadow as my son…"_ Maria thought. She brought him into a closer hug.

"I love you Shadow… don't you ever forget it…"

"I won't mama… I love you too…"

Tears filled Maria's eyes as pure joy uplifted her spirits. She and Shadow both closed their eyes, still embracing each other. A mother and son, who were both wishing for a better tomorrow.

_To be continued…_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Skating 101

A lot had happened over the next 2 years: Shadow had completely mastered how to walk, and his intellect had greatly improved. Shadow soon came to learn for himself that he was particularly quite fast. In fact, the fastest creature aboard the ARK. He went from jogging around dirt paths in the atrium with Maria, to sprinting on a treadmill in Gerald's specially-designed gym. The more he ran, the faster he became. Soon enough, Maria could hardly keep up with her child.

"Shadow… _*huff* _… hold on… you know I'm not as fast as you." Maria panted as she ran along the track.

Meanwhile Shadow was sprinting incredibly fast. For being a 5 year-old ultimate lifeform, he for sure was fulfilling his purpose.

"Sorry Maria, but I'm just having a great time!" He shouted as he dashed along the track.

He continued to repeatedly overlap Maria, all the while she had barely even completed her 3rd lap.

"Do you… _*pant* _… always have to show off Shadow?" Maria slowly came to a stop to catch her breath.

Shadow stopped running, checking to see if Maria was alright.

"I'm alright Shadow… just exhausted is all…"

"We can stop if you like?"

"No… actually… there's something I want to teach you."

Shadow was a bit puzzled. "Teach me what? I'm smart already."

Maria slightly giggled. "C'mon, just follow me to the jogging track." Maria started running towards the area, and Shadow followed suit.

_-o-_

"Here we are!" Maria presented the jogging track, but Shadow was still confused.

"Uhh, I don't get it." He scratched his head. "What's the 'big thing' you want to teach me?"

Maria smiled. She walked over to her bag, and pulled out a pair of shoes. Oddly though to Shadow, the shoes had wheels on them.

"These are what we call Roller-Skates, and I'm going to teach you how to use them." Maria held out the pair of skates to the child. "Well go ahead and put them on. I've got myself another pair in my bag."

Shadow went ahead and grabbed the skates without asking any questions, curious to know what these strange shoes offered. He threw away his old crummy sneakers and put on the fresh new pair of skates.

"Hmm, this seems easy- whoa!" Shadow caught himself on a nearby handrail to prevent an embarrassing fall.

"Okay… maybe not…"

Maria laughed at him. "Well of course you're not going to get it down first try. You need to practice, silly!"

Shadow awkwardly smiled; still was trying to get the hang of it.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Maria rushed to her bag once more, and grabbed some safety gear for Shadow. "You'll need these." She held the protection gear in her hands.

Maria then took a moment to put the gear on Shadow. It was some elbow pads, knee pads, helmets, all the usual things any new skater would need.

"Always wear protection." Maria happily said. She put on her own protection gear as well, and prepared to give Shadow lessons on how to skate.

"Now Shadow, I know this is your first time roller skating. So, we are going to take it nice and slow."

"Pfft… I hate going slow." He muttered.

"Now the first thing: find your balance."

Maria got up from the bench and started to move around on the skates slowly.

"Go ahead, get up and try to stand."

The 5-year-old hedgehog nodded. He got up from the bench, expecting to be perfectly fine. But as it turned out, he was not fine. He ended up losing his balance the moment he tried to stand. Luckily though, Maria caught him before he fell.

"Don't worry Shadow, I got you." Maria said assuringly. "Here, hold onto my hand and skate alongside with me."

Shadow took hold of her hand, and slowly he followed alongside her. Each step, or in this case each stride, felt very wobbly to him.

"There you go, now you're getting the hang of it!" Maria cheered. "Just pay attention to my movement."

Shadow nodded and looked down at Maria's skated. Every step she took on each roller skate was as if she was gliding on thin air. The even cooler thing was that she seemed to go faster, which made Shadow desire to be better at the exercise.

Shadow smirked, and he began to follow and copy her strides. His movement began to become more fluid, and soon enough he was building up just enough speed to catch up with Maria.

"Now you've got the hang of it!" Maria said.

"Yeah that's right! I'm the greatest roller- AHHH!"

Shadow lost his balance once again and he fell flat on his face. He groaned in pain as he tried to pick himself up, but he couldn't. His darn skates were preventing him from doing so.

Maria laughed. "I wouldn't exactly call yourself 'the greatest skater' just yet."

Shadow turned his head to his caretaker with a big pout.

"Don't laugh at my battlescar!" He pointed at his forehead, which had a small red mark from falling.

Maria burst out laughing, holding her stomach as she nearly fell over.

"Stop laughing at me! This is serious!" Shadow whined, slightly embarrassed from his accident.

"It's ok Shadow, I'll pick you up." Maria bent down and picked Shadow up from the ground.

"You'll improve, I just know it!" Maria said happily.

_***Beep Beep***_

Maria checked her watch and noticed that it was 3:30 p.m, meaning that is was time to go and pick up Eidola for her lessons.

"Hey Shadow, it's 3:30 now. Go grab your things and hurry over to Mr. Callaghan's history class."

"What? Why history? It's boring." Shadow said, annoyed.

"It's part of your curriculum Shadow. Now hurry along." Maria gave him a slight push in the direction he had to go towards and Shadow took off, holding his arms behind his back in Naruto style.

"And take off those skates too!" Maria added.

"I knoowwww mom…"

"That boy needs to stop watching those old ninja movies…" Maria laughed a little bit. She watched the little dark figure scurry off into the distance, and when he was gone, she made her way back to her quarters to get ready for the lesson.

_-o-_

"Alright Eidola, how would you describe Mars' atmosphere?" Maria questioned her.

Eidola paused for a moment to think about her answer. "Well, I do remember Mars' atmosphere is made up of many gases, just like our blue planet. It contains mostly carbon dioxide with a few others like argon and nitrogen."

"Correct, Eidola!" Maria smiled. "Mars' atmospheric pressure is about a hundred times less than Earth's. Which is also why many astronauts who are venturing to the red planet cannot breathe its air."

Eidola jotted down the extra information in her notebook.

"Why can't scientists just terraform Mars to make it habitable?" Eidola asked.

"Well, that's why we have a team of them studying different methods of terraforming. So that one day we can send humans and splicers to populate the entirety of Mars, and hope to establish a proper society."

Maria smiled and closed the laptop.

"That should conclude our lesson for today Eidola. Surprisingly we still have 30 minutes left for some free time. Do you want to go ahead and get a head start on tomorrow's lesson, or perhaps go to the gymnasium and practice your acrobatics?"

Eidola however didn't answer Maria's question, and instead skipped over to Maria's record player.

"Can we listen to music instead?" Eidola asked sweetly.

"Eidola, you know Dr. Gerald wouldn't be happy if he found out about this…"

"Please Maria…" Eidola pleaded with her big, watery, golden eyes.

Maria couldn't help it, she was just too adorable. She went ahead and put flipped through the vinyls she had on her shelf.

"Hmm… how about for today we listen to… Walking on a Dream, by Empire of the Sun?" Maria asked, holding one of their vinyls.

"Yeah, I love that song!" Eidola squealed in joy. Once the song started up, she grabbed Maria's hands and pulled her to the middle of the open room. "C'mon, teach me how you danced last time!"

"Eidola… I…"

"Pleeeeeeeeease..."

Maria giggled a little bit. "Oh ok, just follow what I do and try to keep up."

_We are always running for the thrill of it thrill of it_

_Always pushing up the hill searching for the thrill of it_

_On and on and on we are calling out and out again_

_Never looking down I'm just in awe of what's in front of me_

While the two of them were dancing and jumping around to the super catchy song, they failed to hear the rapid sound of footsteps approaching the door.

Suddenly, the door flew open and Maria froze in place. She was caught, and all the while Eidola still kept dancing.

Shadow was standing there, his hand still on the door knob. He saw the shocked look on Maria's face and his ears drooped.

"Uhhh….. you ok Maria?" Shadow asked, puzzlingly.

Maria eased a little bit. She was expecting her grandfather to be at the doorway, but luckily it was just Shadow. "Oh… hi Shadow… how come you're back so early?"

"Yeah the teacher had to go for some special occasion. Said something about his eye hurting and… wait, who's that?" he regarded the stranger who was twirling and dancing around the room.

Eidola accidentally bumped into a bookshelf, causing her to lose balance and fall on her back. She shook her head, and looked up at the black hedgehog, then tilted her head in confusion.

"OH! Umm… she's nobody Shadow! Just a… umm…" Maria struggled to come up with an excuse, doing her best to prevent anything else from getting worse.

But unfortunately for Maria, Eidola simply just walked around her and met face to face with Shadow. She looked into it his red eyes for a short moment, studying him.

Shadow leaned away from her a little bit. "Uhh, why are you staring at me?" He asked the red hedgehog.

She held out her hand to him. "Hi, I'm Eidola! It's nice to meet you. Nice quills you have." She smiled.

Shadow dumbly looked at her hand, unsure if he should shake her hand or not. He rubbed his hand through his black quills- which his gray highlights had taken on a dark red over the past few years- he went ahead and shook her hand.

"I'm Shadow, it's uh… nice to meet you too."

While the two hedgehogs were shaking hands, Maria was in the background panicking. She broke the ONE rule that her grandfather specifically told her NOT to break.

"This wasn't supposed to happen… you two weren't supposed to meet... yet. You see, Grandpa told me…"

The two hedgehogs looked up at Maria with confusion written all over their faces. Maria face palmed herself.

"You know what, let's just keep this a secret, okay?"

_-o-_

Over the next few months, the two hedgehogs became friends very fast. Since their schedules overlapped during their physical routines, they often found the time to play hide and seek in the atrium.

Maria had taught Eidola how to skate, with both of them usually racing against each other. Of course Maria best Eidola by a long shot, but that didn't stop the red hedgehog from always wanting to keep trying her best.

Eidola had also gained the nickname, "Dolly." The reason behind this being that Maria had found Eidola playing with one of her old dolls. The hedgehog loved them, and Maria gladly gifted her the toy.

It was pleasant for Maria to raise the two of them. It felt like for once in her life, she was actually doing something that was truly meaningful.

_-o-_

"Come out, come out, wherever you are… You can't hide from me, Dolly." Shadow said out loud.

Dolly giggled quietly as she hid in a patch of tall grass. The two hedgehogs were playing in one of the few places ideal for their hide and seek games: the atrium. Maria of course was keeping an eye on them as always, while also attempting to knock out some of her own homework.

Shadow got closer to the rock that Dolly was hiding behind, with her still being unaware of his presence.

"Gotcha!" Shadow caught her off guard and tackled her to the ground.

"C'mon… how are you so good at finding me?" Dolly whined.

"It's cause I'm the Ultimate Lifeform, duh."

"Why you little… come here you!" Dolly pounced him, pinning him to the ground.

"Oh, it's on!" Shadow retorted, as he continued to wrestle her.

Maria was still reading through her books when she heard the noise of two hedgehogs fighting with each other. She cursed under her breath, got up and went to go check on them. The two of them were still roughhousing, still unaware of the tall figure standing next to them. Maria decided to make herself present.

"Ahem…"

Shadow and Dolly stopped fighting and looked up at her. The frown on Maria's face, along with her arms folded, made the two hedgehogs freeze in fear.

"I didn't start it! She did!" Shadow blurted out.

"What?! I did NOT!" Dolly snapped back.

"ENOUGH YOU TWO!" Maria scolded the two of them. "You will treat each other with respect… I want you both to not talk to each other like that again, understand?"

Shadow turned away, crossing his arms and ignoring Maria. "Hmpf… why should I?"

Suddenly, he felt his ear being grabbed, as he was being dragged by Maria's hand.

"Congratulations: you just earned yourself a very long timeout." Maria continued to pull him away from Dolly, and back to his quarters.

"Dolly, behave yourself next time. Otherwise you'll end up like my son here…" Maria said to her.

"Yes Ma'am…" she replied.

Maria sighed heavily. "Dolly, go ahead and head back to Dr. Gerald. Shadow needs to learn his lesson about respect…" she tugged on his ear a bit tighter.

"Ow ow ow…" Shadow said, wincing from the pain. Now he knew what happens when you disrespect Maria.

_To be continued…_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Author's Note:**_

_**Oof, I apologize for such a long wait on this chapter… I got caught up with the holidays, new stories and friends. (What? You readers were probably busy too. Hmpf.)**_

_**Just wanted to mention, I appreciate some of you who are sending PM's and giving me feedback. It really helps motivate me to continue writing these types of stories. I promise I won't let procrastination get in the way. **_

_**Anyways, please enjoy this new chapter of Long Lost Memories!**_

_**(P.S. I need the Sonic Movie… NOW!)**_

Chapter 6: Free Time

Shadow lightly snored as he napped on his nice warm bed. He tossed and turned, messing up his neatly made bed. At the moment though, Shadow was supposed to be studying for an upcoming test. But the hedgehog was confident in his mental abilities; he didn't need to study for nothing. So he used the spare time to his advantage, and instead took a nice long nap.

Till Dolly interrupted of course…

"Hiya Shadow!" The red hedgehog shouted as she burst into his room.

"AAH!" Shadow awoke with a fright. He looked around and met eyes with Dolly, who was smiling at him.

"Haven't you ever heard of knocking!? You almost gave me a heart attack, Dolly!" Shadow angrily yelled.

Dolly only laughed at his behavior. "Aww, did I scare you mister tough guy?" Shadow frowned at her sarcastic joke.

"Yeah, very funny…" Shadow rolled his eyes and laid back down on his bed. Since he was up, he figured he would just read comic books before he had to do his so called 'study session.'

Dolly pouted, seeing that Shadow wasn't up for her jokes. "You're no fun, you know that?"

Shadow put his comic down for a second. "Me, not fun? Now I'm gonna have to stop you right there. I AM the definition of fun, and I can… wait, why the heck am I telling you this?! Get out of my room! I want privacy!" After Shadow felt like he was done talking, he picked his comic book back up and began to enjoy his time once again.

Dolly was a taken aback by Shadow's sudden words. She didn't like the way he spoke to her. So she figured she could bother him a bit more as payback for hurting her feelings. She wore a sad look on her face, whimpering to get Shadow to feel bad for her.

Of course, the ebony hedgehog took notice. "Ugh, Dolly please… go away. I won't have free time after this you know." The little hedgehog said with annoyance in his voice.

Dolly stopped whimpering; her brows furrowed. "Wait, your "free time?" Are you saying that you're using your study break as a goof-off session?!"

"Look Dolly, why can't you just let me be? Do I ever bother **you** when you're alone?"

"Well… actually, yeah you do." Dolly remarked.

"What?!" Shadow angrily yelled.

"Yep! Like remember the time where you couldn't understand what division was or how to solve algebraic problems? Face it Shads, you're just dumb." Dolly stuck her tongue out, taunting him.

Before Dolly could say anything else, she was suddenly tackled to the ground by Shadow.

"Nngh, get off me Shadow!" Dolly struggled to break free, but he weighed much more than her. Shadow stared into her eyes.

"Take back what you said! Then maybe once you apologize, I'll let you free." Shadow yelled.

"Never! Not even if it was between life and death!"

"Why you-!"

Just then, the bedroom door opened, and at the entrance was Maria. She had just come back from her science class, but of course, she wasn't expecting the two hedgehogs to be rough housing.

"What is going- Shadow why are you…?" Maria asked as she tried to figure out what was happening at the moment.

Shadow quickly got off of Dolly and dusted himself off. He even picked up Dolly, placing her back on her feet. The hedgehog put on his happy face and began to lie.

"Oh… we were just playing, that's all." Shadow replied.

But Maria wasn't so easily convinced. She then glared at Shadow; her look being very mean and disturbing.

Shadow gulped, he knew that look from anywhere. "_Oh no, not the death stare… please Chaos, spare me…"_

Maria walked over to Shadow and grabbed him by the ear.

"Ow ow ow ow!" Shadow winced in pain as Maria forcefully tugged at his ear.

Oddly enough, Maria began to speak very calmly, despite wearing a mean look. "Listen here young man, I don't **ever **want to see you do that to Dolly again." Shadow didn't answer right away, and he was then met with another painful tug to his ear. "Do you understand me, Shadow?"

"Y-yes Ma'am..." Shadow dreadfully admitted. Maria let go of his ear and rubbed the top of his little stripped head.

"Thank you, Shadow. Now, apologize to Dolly…"

"But mom…"

"No buts. Just say you're sorry."

Shadow sighed heavily. "I'm… sorry."

Dolly happily smiled, content with Shadow's apology. "All is forgiven, Shads."

Maria clapped her hands together once. She was glad she was able to manage this kind of situation all by herself. It made her feel like she was a good caretaker for the two of them. But speaking of caretaking, she had almost forget something important.

"Oh, Shadow, Dr. Gerald wanted to see you in his lab."

Shadow, who was still rubbing his ear, looked at Maria with a puzzled expression. "Say what now? Why does that old man need to see me anyway?"

"He said it's 'urgent' Shadow. So you must get a move on." Maria said once more.

Shadow rolled his eyes and groaned obnoxiously. "_Well, at least I don't need to worry about the homework."_

Shadow made his way to the front door; his hover shoes already on. (He wears them all day, except when he sleeps, fyi.) Before he left, Shadow turned his head to see Maria and Dolly gently waving goodbye to him. The ebony hedgehog stuck his tongue out one last time, and shut the door with some force.

As soon as Shadow shut the door, Dolly and Maria immediately stopped waving.

"So, want to do some homework in the meantime?" Maria asked.

"Absolutely!" Dolly replied cheerfully.

Soon, the two of them got to work on their assignments. All the while, Shadow was making his way down the halls of the ARK to meet with the Professor.

_-o-_

Shadow at last arrived at the laboratory's front door. Considering he was only 3 ft tall, the metal-clad door was considerably larger than him. Despite Shadow not wanting to talk to the bald mustached scientist, he had to. The hedgehog lifted his little gloved fist to the door.

"_Well, here goes nothing."_

He knocked on metal door a few times, and then crossed his arms over his chest to wait for an answer from the other side.

After a few seconds of waiting, the door opened, and behind it was Dr. Gerald.

"Hey Doc, you happy to see me?" Shadow asked jokingly.

Gerald scoffed at his joke. "You're 3 minutes late, Shadow. Hurry up and come inside." He ushered the black hedgehog into the lab.

The black hedgehog walked into the room. The first thing that he noticed was the strong scent of chemicals hitting his bean-like nose. He quickly pinched it, hoping to keep the smell out.

"You will sit here, Shadow. So take a seat." Gerald instructed. Shadow of course listened and hopped onto the table.

For a bit, Shadow swung his legs over the edge of the metallic table. All around him, he could see scientists all alike working around the clock on computers, chemicals, and other tasks. He didn't really care too much about what they were doing though. He believed that what they were up to was utterly boring. For all he knew, he would never want to be a scientist.

"So..." the Ultimate Life Form started. "...why did you want me here anyway, Gerald?" Shadow asked, while simultaneously having his blood pressure and heart rate quickly checked by a nurse.

"We just need to run some tests is all." Gerald replied. "Alexi, is the treadmill ready for Speed Test #6A?" He asked a nearby scientist.

The said scientist nodded his head. "Yes Dr. Gerald, the treadmill is ready for the subject."

"Good, now Shadow, would you be kind enough to step onto the treadmill and prepare for further instructions?"

"Sure." Shadow gladly answered. "I'm always ready to put my speed to the test." He hopped off the table and began walking towards the treadmill. But he was met with an arm blocking his way.

"I'm sorry, but your experimental hover shoes are not permitted for this test." He stated.

Shadow groaned. "Man I love these shoes…" Grudgingly, he took off his hover shoes and placed them down. He was instead given a normal pair of heat-resistant shoes. Once that was dealt with, the scientist allowed him to pass through and hop onto the treadmill.

Gerald joined a few of his fellow workers in the safe room that was protected by a strong and protective glass. It's not that they feared The Ultimate Lifeform, merely, they were just taking precautions. Dr. Gerald turned on the mic and spoke to Shadow through the speakers.

"Alright my dear boy, are you ready for the test to commence?"

"Yeah yeah, just start the machine already." Shadow said hastily.

The machine activated, and the treadmill began to move underneath Shadow's feet. At first, the machine was only moving at an average speed; which was a walk in the park to Shadow. Gerald and the other scientists of course proceeded to raise the speed of the treadmill. The machine began to pick up speed, and with that Shadow was also picking up his speed as well. First he was walking, then jogging, and now he was sprinting.

"Are you exhausted yet, Shadow?"

"No way! Keep raising the speed! I want to push myself beyond my limits!"

The scientists obliged, and they raised the speed ludicrously. Now the treadmill was moving at speeds that even the fastest land animal, the cheetah, couldn't keep up with. Thus, this already made Shadow the fastest land creature to ever exist. But it didn't stop there. The speed kept getting faster and faster, to the point where it surpassed the 200 mph mark. Shadow was enjoying every second of it. Sure he wasn't moving and seeing blurs, but he could feel the rubber burn beneath the soles of his shoes as he raised his speed even higher.

"More!" Shadow called out. As usual, the scientists did so. Now the machine was going beyond what it was meant to be at. It was now nearing 650 mph on the tracker, and Shadow wasn't even breaking a sweat.

Gerald spoke into the microphone. "Alright Shadow, that is enough for now."

"You kidding me? No way I'm losing my momentum now!"

Shadow went even faster, causing the machine to sputter and emit smoke. Gerald and the scientists all knew that the hedgehog was going to cause the machine to overload and create an explosion within the lab. Though the explosion won't cause any issues for the ARK itself, it WILL cause damage for the lab it would take place in.

"Shadow, I command you to get off the treadmill NOW!" Gerald yelled through the mic.

But Shadow ignored his commands, and just kept going faster and faster and…

_***BOOM!***_

As expected, The Ultimate Lifeform's pure speed and energy had caused the treadmill to malfunction and explode under immense conditions. Thankfully, Gerald and his lab assistants were safely guarded by the glass that shielded them from the explosion. Cautiously, they all stepped outside of the safe room, and inspected the damage. The lab was destroyed for the most part, and it would take a few weeks to repair the damages.

"Grrr, where is that black nuisance?" Gerald bitterly said under his breath. He looked around the destroyed lab for his creation, and there, in the middle of the room, was Shadow patiently sitting on the perfectly untouched metal table from earlier.

"So, how did I do?" Shadow remarked.

Gerald grabbed the two ends of his mustache and growled in frustration. He stomped over to the ebony hedgehog and grabbed him by the neck.

"Get out, NOW! You are no longer needed until further notice!" Gerald angrily shouted, throwing him out of the lab and shutting the metal door with intense force.

Shadow blinked, and then smirked. "Well, I guess that visit went well." He stood up from the ground he was thrown down upon and dusted off his fur. "Welp, time to go tell Maria about my new speed record." and he ran off.

Once Dr. Gerald saw that Shadow was gone, he smiled wickedly.

"So the hedgehog can reach 770 mph, eh? I wonder…" Gerald continued to ponder about a certain idea that would later come into play in the future. But for now, he would have to wait.

_-o-_

"YOU DID WHAT, SHADOW?!" Maria yelled.

"What? It's not a big deal, it was just a lame machine. Who cares?" Shadow shrugged without sympathy.

Suddenly, Maria grabbed Shadow by his ear and pulled him over to the bed. "Sit down, young man!" Maria strictly said to him.

Shadow listened of course and plopped himself on the mattress. Maria continued to scold her surrogate son. She rambled about how he should've been more careful, or how he should respect others property. If he dared to not listen, Maria was prepared to discipline him. There was absolutely no way Shadow would grow up to be careless, disrespectful and non-sympathetic.

After what seemed like hours, Maria calmed herself down; taking deep breaths to relax.

"Well Shadow, do you understand why I'm stern with you?" Maria asked him.

"Ugh…. yes Maria, I know." Shadow grudgingly answered.

"What's the right way to reply?"

*sigh* "Yes, ma'am…"

"Good! Now Shadow, get ready for bed. You have a test tomorrow." Maria said to him, and she went into her own bedroom for her own privacy.

Shadow let out a heavy sigh and fell back on his bed.

"_Maria scares me at times…" _Shadow said to himself, visibly cringing. For a few minutes, he just laid on the bed, staring at the ceiling. After a brief moment of nothingness, he jolted up from his position when he came to a realization.

"CRAP! My test!"

In a last ditch effort, Shadow scrambles to his desk full of books; hoping he can get just a bit of helpful information into his brain. Sure he may be smart, but that's only if he puts his mind to it. Of course this time, he didn't.

_The next day…_

Shadow was waiting in anticipation for his test grade. He stayed up all night hoping his last ditch effort would work. He stared at Maria, who was also his home school teacher, waiting for her to finish grading his test. Drips of sweat could be seen running down the sides of the nervous hedgehog's head. After what felt like an eternity, Maria got up from her desk and walked over to Shadow.

"Well, did I pass?" Shadow asked eagerly.

Maria didn't say a thing though. Instead, she slammed the clipped pieces of paper onto his desk. Shadow, being curious, inspected the front page of his test. His grade was… an E?

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "Uh, Maria, what kind of grade is an E?" He asked.

She smirked, then hid her grin from Shadow. "Oh, it just means you passed!"

Shadow's eyes lit up. "No way, REALLY?!"

"Of course not, that's the worst grade you can get. You just got bamboozled! Hahaha!" Maria teased Shadow.

At that moment, Shadow stopped working for some reason. His eye twitched a few times, and unexpectedly, he slammed his forehead onto his desk very roughly. (Multiple times actually.)

"_It looks like Shadow won't be stopping anytime soon…" _Maria thought. "_Perhaps I was a bit too harsh, heh heh." _She rubbed the back of her head nervously, laughing a bit as well. All the while, Shadow was still slamming his head onto the desk. It was gonna be a long time for Shadow to recover from his head injuries...

_To be continued…_

_**AN: **_**_Thank you for sticking around people! I'm sorry I haven't attended to this story in a few weeks. The holidays, and school, were very distracting for me, lol. But look, from this point on, I'll be more transparent and work much more frequently, alright?_**

**_Again, thanks for reading the story, and I'll see you all next time! ;P_**

**_P.S, thanks for following, favoriting and reviewing the story! I appreciate it!_**


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